Aerial delivery container



Jan. 24, 1950 P. H. S-TEVENSON 2,495,486

AERIAL DELIVERY CONTAINER Filed April 18, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. f n/u STEVENSOI BY fleww.

ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 24, 1950 P. H. STEVENSON 2,495,486

AERIAL DELIVERY CONTAINER Filed April 18,1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I JNVENTOR. Par/4m hfre'rs/vsom AT'To R N EYS.

Patented Jan. 24, 1950 UNITED PATENT OFFICE Philip; Hz. Stevenson, Cincinnati; Ohio Application April- I8; 1945; Serial- Nw 589,034

Claims. (01. 244-138)! This invention relates to that type of delivery container which may be thrown from an airplane in flight and which will land without damage to. the. contents. thereof- 11;. especially refers to that form of container" designated as a non-parachute type on which: the cushioning-i of the. impact; oi the container with; the ground is by means other than a parachute- I secure the, desired. cushioning; eifeec't by a combination of. two. means.- Qn'e. of these is: a set. of four or more. fiat. vanes extending: radially from the container,. the. flat vanes" twisted to. an angle to the direction of fallingv in. order to secure a spinning action of the container as it is dropping. through the air after having been tossed from an airplane; The: second means is an air-cushion formed between the container an outer sleeve fitted snugly to the container proper, the sleeve provided with air-vent holes to permit the air confined between the container and the sleeve to escape gradually when the container impacts the ground.

I attain these objects by means of the combination of elements illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the exterior of my improved container with two of the flying vanes extended in their flying position; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with two of the vanes extended radially, the other two folded at the side; Fig. 3 is an end view of a vane to show the angle at which it is set while in flight with arrows showing the direction of falling (vertical arrow) and the direction of rotation (horizontal arrow) due to the angle; Fig. 4 is a second plan view with all four vanes extended; Fig. 5 is a side elevation similar to that of Fig. 1 but with the vane in front lifted to the flying position to show the sleeve and the container hooked to the trip wire.

Similar figures refer to similar parts through the several views.

The container I may be of sheet metal, fiber of wood or any similar material, a chief requirement being low cost and. may be round, square or rectangular in cross-section. fitted with a cap 2. Surrounding container I, and a sliding fit thereto, is a sleeve 3 providing an air cushion between it and the container. The sleeve is fitted with air vents 4 both to permit air into the cushion space and permit it to escape gradually when the container lands. A spring 5 between the closed end of 3 and the end of l extends the sleeve to the position indicated by the dash lines 3a of Fig. 1 when the container is It is thrown.- from the airplane andi the: trip wires: l4

are: pulled from the container and; the sleeve as.

hereinafter described. Hinged: to the: container at; (tarevanes; lwhich twist. 110113116. angular position indicated in- Fig. 31 and. the dash lines, To of! Figs 1 when. the: container starts to; fall. Elastic cords 8" are attached to; the vanes at 9. by one end to container i at. their other ends through eyelets or ears 1.. Flat springs: H' are ri-vetedto the inner ends of; vanes 1,. and. contact'c'ap' 22 when the-vanes are extended in flight.

These springs together with: cords 3; limit. to the slight angieofabout 5 indicated. in. Figs. 1 and 5. the positionof the vanes and; cushion their stoipt.

Attached to sleeve: 3= are other elastic" cords. t2;

indicated? by dash lines in Fig. 1. They are at.

tached at their upper. ends? to: the container: at. H5v to; limit the extension: of the sleeve to the:

position of the dash lines 3a. To ring I3 are attached trip Wires M to the lower ends of which are hooked sleeve 3 by ears l0 and container by ears [6. The trip wires are attached, in their turn, to strap l1 fastened to the airplane so tossing out the container pulls out the wires and sets it free. While stored on board, the trip wires are hooked through the ears 9, It! and I6 holding the sleeve close up on the container and the vanes by the side of the sleeve. To the lid 2 is attached the handle l5.

To be more specific, the trip wires I4 are attached at their upper ends to ring [3 and this ring is made fast to the airplane through the strap or static line I1. It is necessary only to throw the container out as the impetus given the container spreads the vanes and the release of spring 5 permits it to push the sleeve to the position of the dotted lines 3a of Fig. 1 when air is drawn into the air space to provide an air cushion for landing without damage to the contents of the container. The filling of the air space takes place while the container is on its way to the ground. The air must exit through holes 4 on the container landing. The impact is further cushioned by spring 5. The vanes, on spreading, twist to the angle indicated in Fig. 3 which angle causes the container to spin on its axis as indi cated by the horizontal arrow of Fig. 3 so it falls gradually. Thus is combined this spinning effect, and the cushioning eiiect of the air cushion and the spring to avoid shock in landing to the contents of the container and possible damage thereto. In addition thereto is its cheapness as its cost is low for both material and labor.

I claim:

1. An aerial delivery container having in combination a plurality of vanes extending radially therefrom together with a telescoping sleeve fitted snugly to the container, ears on the sleeve, ears on the container, the ears on the sleeve fitted between the ears on the container, trip wires hooked through the ears, the trip wires adapted to hold the sleeve close up on the container, and the vanes against the side of the sleeve, both for storage, and a spring within the sleeve adapted to force the sleeve and the container apart when the trip wires are pulled from the ears.

2. An aerial delivery container comprising in combination a telescoping sleeve fitted snugly to the container, air vents in the sleeve, the sleeve closed at the outer end thereof, a spring between the closed end of the sleeve and the end of the container, the spring tending to force the container and the sleeve apart, ears on the sleeve, ears on the container, the ears on the sleeve between the ears on the container, trip wires hooked through the ears, the trip wires adapted to hold the sleeve close up on the container, and the pulling of the wires from the ears so releasing the sleeve that the spring will force the sleeve outward while the container is in flight thereby drawing air into the sleeve between the end thereof and the end of the container thereby providing an air cushion between the end of the container and the end of the sleeve.

3. An aerial delivery container comprising inner and outer telescoping cylinders, the inner cylinder having a bottom and a top, and constituting a cargo compartment, the outer cylinder being closed at its lower end and being provided with air vents, a compression spring interposed between the bottoms of said inner and outer cylinders tending to force them apart, means to limit the amount of relative axial displacement of said cylinders and releasable means to hold said cylinders substantially bottom to bottom against the compression of said spring.

4. A device according to claim 3 in which said releasable means comprise elements on said inner and outer cylinders, which in the bottom to bottom condition of said cylinders are adjacent each other and means fastening said elements together, said fastening means being arranged to be secured to a static line.

5. A device according to claim 4 in which said elements are perforated ears, the perforations being substantially aligned in the bottom to bottom condition of said cylinders, and in which a. trip wire passes through said aligned perforations and is arranged to be secured to a static line for withdrawal thereby from said perforations.

PHILIP H. STEVENSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,044,819 Taylor June 23, 1936 2,314,881 Helmick Mar. 30, 1943 2,324,146 Frazer July 13, 1943 2,371,640 Manson Mar. 20, 1945 2,380,278 Weissman July 10, 1945 2,408,246 Walter Sept. 24, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 197,803 Great Britain May 24, 1923 442,973 Great Britain Feb. 19, 1936 843,985 France Apr. 11, 1939 

